By Ethan Moore, Sports Editor.
The men’s basketball team, coming off a big win at Henry Ford, was looking to stay above .500 in conference play against a talented Mott team on Jan. 20. The game was a dogfight from the onset, as neither team was able to break away from the other. As the game wore on, fatigue caught up to the Pioneers and they never were able to recover as Mott came out with the 85-79 victory.
“I believe in order to get over the hump, we must cherish every possession a lot more than what we are,” says Head Coach Carlos McMath. “I believe it is due to fatigue, which limits us all at some point. But, we must fight through those mental barriers and get through them.”
William Williams led the way in scoring with 16 points, shooting six for eight. Martel Handley added ten points, while both Jon Swift and Tyler Ellis had nine. The Pioneers were in this game the whole way, and came just a few plays and some missed free throws short of coming out on top. The team showed a lot of fight at the end, cutting the lead from ten down to four in the final seconds in an act of pride even when the game was out of reach.
“We’re definitely starting to trust each more,” says guard Martel Handley. “We’re becoming more coachable and that’ll eventually help us pull out these games.”
The Pioneers are now 3-3 in conference play.
*Wednesday night’s contest featured a water drive for the athletes of Mott Community College as they continue to experience a quality water shortage in certain areas of Flint where many athletes live. In all, Delta College collected and donated 186 cases of bottled water to send home with the Bears.